Seaside Florida 2009

FINALLY! The post that you've all been waiting for... Vacation Pics! (Sorry it took so long.)

 

A few weeks back, Kevin and I took Anna on her first official vacation. We went to Seaside, Florida and I couldn't have asked for a better, m ore relaxing place to take her. We went with our good friends Eric and Paige and their two kids Emery and Reed. We also had the added bonus of taking a babysitter with us... Thank You Ms. Suzanne! After two days in the car, we finally arrived in Seaside on Sunday afternoon. This was the house we stayed in. It was three stories, right on the beach and it was gorgeous!

 

Once we got settled in, we went down to experience our first adventure on the beach. This was Anna's first time to get her feet in the sand. She wasn't sure what to think about it but she eventually got used to it.  

 

This was her first time in the water. At first, she wasn't a big fan of the "waves" (I put that in quotes because the water was so calm the whole week).

 

After about an hour or so on the beach, Anna was wiped out, especially since we had been traveling for two days. She got a little cranky and was ready to call it a day. 

 

Here she is building her first sand castle. :)

Something very funny about Anna on this trip was every time she was done playing on the beach and she'd had her fill, she'd walk towards the house and say "C'mon!" She definitely let us know when she was done. It was very cute! Here she is calling it a day.

 

All in all, the first day on the beach was a moderate success.

The days to come were a MAJOR success! Once she got used to the sand and the water, she LOVED it! Every morning she would wake up saying "Beach! Beach!" Our daily routine was getting up, eating breakfast and then going straight down to the beach, where we'd stay until lunch. Anna loved sitting in the water and letting the waves splash her.

 

 

I love this picture!

This was one afternoon after beach time. Anna was having fun playing with my sunglasses.

These next two pictures prove that Anna is Kevin's kid. They look so much a like in these pictures!

 

 Here we are, another day on the beach. Anna loved playing in the sand and building sand castles... so did Kevin!

 ...and so did I!

 Towards the end of the week, Anna was definitely not afraid of the water and wanted to be in it at all times. If she could've she would've walked into that water and swam away. We'd take her out pretty far and let her float. She never wanted to come back in.

There were tons of little fish that would swim around your feet and Anna liked looking at them... "fish! fish!" Her other favorite animal at the beach was the "duck". She called the seagulls ducks and she would chase them up and down the beach. Anytime a "duck" would get close to us, she'd take off running after it.

 

 Parents Night Out! Yes, we got to enjoy a little kid-free time while on vacation. On this night we went to Red Bar in Grayton Beach and it was very good!

 

 Another added bonus of our trip was going with a very talented photographer. Paige was able to capture a few moments of the three of us on the beach together. Here are a few. As soon as I get the others I will post them. 

 

 

We all had so much fun on the beach and I love that Anna had the time of her life! We went with great friends and shared some great memories together. Eric and Paige, thanks for the invite and we can't wait to do it again next year.

Anna - When you're older you will hear stories about your first vacation. Stories about how you chased the "ducks", how you loved playing with "Reee and Emmry", how you finally learned how to say please and thank you (thanks to Ms. Suzanne.) Stories about how awesome you were on the 10 1/2 hour trip and stories of how much sunscreen your Dad and I lathered you in because we were both terrified you'd get a sunburn! Stories about how for a whole week we were afraid you'd fall down the stairs but instead on the last day, right before we were leaving, you took a tumble off the bed and hit your head on the tile floor. :( Every day and every tiny little moment on this trip was a blessing and I will always cherish it. Thank you for being such a beautiful, smart, amazing and wonderful daughter. We love you so much Banannas!